[Good Morning Stock Market] US Stocks Close Mixed... "Domestic Market Expected to Remain Steady"

On the 9th, the domestic stock market is expected to show a sideways trend. This is because the U.S. stock market closed mixed, and some profit-taking is anticipated following the recent sharp rise in semiconductor stocks in the domestic market.

UPI Yonhap News

On the 8th (local time), in the U.S. New York stock market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow Index), centered on blue-chip stocks, closed at 42,635.2, up 106.84 points (0.25%) from the previous trading day. The S&P 500 Index, focused on large-cap stocks, rose 9.22 points (0.16%) to 5,918.25, while the Nasdaq Index, centered on technology stocks, fell 10.8 points (0.06%) to 19,478.88.

The minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held in December last year, released by the Federal Reserve (Fed), reaffirmed concerns about "Trumflation" (inflation caused by Trump's policies).

The minutes explained, "Almost all participants judged that the upside risks to the inflation outlook have increased," and "As the basis for this judgment, participants cited stronger-than-expected inflation indicators and the potential impact of changes in trade and immigration policies."

It also reconfirmed that the pace of monetary easing would slow down. The minutes stated, "In discussing the outlook for monetary policy, participants saw that the Committee had reached or was approaching the appropriate time to slow the pace of policy accommodation."

Kim Seok-hwan, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, said, "The FOMC minutes strengthened the cautious view that the risk of rising inflation has increased and that the pace of monetary easing should be slowed," adding, "As a result, the market lowered expectations for interest rate cuts and showed a mixed trend."

By stock, quantum computer-related stocks plunged. This was because Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, forecasted that it would take 20 years until a useful quantum computer emerges.

The previous day, the KOSPI surpassed the 2,500 mark, recovering to the level before the emergency martial law situation. It closed at 2,521.05, up 28.95 points (1.16%) from the previous trading day. Foreigners and institutions led the index rise through net buying. The KOSDAQ also closed at 719.63, up 1.34 points (0.19%) from the previous trading day.

The domestic stock market is expected to show a sideways trend. This is due to the decline centered on U.S. semiconductor stocks. Lee Seong-hoon, a researcher at Kiwoom Securities, said, "Today, the domestic stock market is expected to show a short-term sideways trend on the index front due to the decline centered on U.S. semiconductor stocks and some profit-taking incentives following the sharp rise in domestic semiconductor stocks the previous day."

He also predicted that despite the recent correction in the U.S. stock market, the impact on the domestic market would be limited. He explained, "Despite the Samsung Electronics earnings shock the previous day, the massive inflow of foreign capital is based on the perception that the sharp decline across the domestic stock market last year was excessive, so low-price buying may continue for the time being," adding, "Considering this, despite the recent correction in the U.S. stock market, the domestic stock market is judged to have limited downward pressure in the short term."